The NFL’s penultimate regular-season Sunday of the 2021 campaign ended with 11 of its 14 playoff spots filled. Six of its eight divisions have champions. And one of its two top seeds is clinched. The day started with the Bengals and Titans clinching the AFC North and AFC South, respectively. It ended with the Packers securing the NFC’s top seed with a rampage over the Vikings; and as a result, the Eagles clinched one of the NFC’s wild-card spots. (Earlier on Sunday, the Bills and Patriots also secured playoff berths.)

On Monday, the Steelers kept their playoff hopes alive with a win against the Browns. That means seven teams are still vying for three spots in the playoff picture as we head toward Week 18. What follows is everything we know about what happened in Week 17 and what could happen in the coming week.

Note: All percentage chances to make the playoffs, clinch a division title or secure the conference No. 1 seed are via ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI).

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Clinching scenarios

AFC playoff standings

Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: 79%
Remaining schedule: at Texans

Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: 17%
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. Chargers
Remaining schedule: at Broncos

Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: 4%
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. Colts
Remaining schedule: at Browns

Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: 95%
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. Patriots
Remaining schedule: vs. Jets

Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: 5%
Chances to earn No. 1 seed:
Current projected first-round matchup: at Bills
Remaining schedule: at Dolphins

Chances to make playoffs: 81%
Chances to win division: Eliminated
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: at Bengals
Remaining schedule: at Jaguars

Chances to make playoffs: 58%
Chances to win division: Eliminated
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: at Chiefs
Remaining schedule: at Raiders

In the AFC hunt

Las Vegas Raiders (9-7)
Chances to make playoffs: 50%

Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7-1)
Chances to make playoffs: 8%

Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
Chances to make playoffs: 4%

NFC playoff standings

Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Clinched
Remaining schedule: at Lions

Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: 77%
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. Eagles
Remaining schedule: vs. 49ers

Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. 49ers
Remaining schedule: vs. Panthers

Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Clinched
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: vs. Cardinals
Remaining schedule: at Eagles

Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: 23%
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: at Cowboys
Remaining schedule: vs. Seahawks

Chances to make playoffs: 60%
Chances to win division: Eliminated
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: at Buccaneers
Remaining schedule: at Rams

Chances to make playoffs: Clinched
Chances to win division: Eliminated
Chances to earn No. 1 seed: Eliminated
Current projected first-round matchup: at Rams
Remaining schedule: vs. Cowboys

In the NFC hunt

New Orleans Saints (8-8)
Chances to make playoffs: 40%

Clinching scenarios and intriguing playoff races

• The Packers have clinched the NFC’s top seed for the second consecutive season, and their next meaningful game will be a divisional-round matchup to be determined on the weekend of Jan. 22-23.

• The Packers’ victory allowed the Eagles to clinch a playoff spot, capping a run in which Philadelphia has won six of seven games. Who had Nick Sirianni as the first rookie coach this season to lock in a trip to the playoffs?

• The Chiefs’ loss to the Bengals means that the AFC’s eventual No. 1 seed will have at least five defeats, tied for the most for the AFC’s top team since the NFL began the seeding process in 1975. The most recent such team with five losses was the 2002 Raiders, who advanced to Super Bowl XXXVII.

• The Bengals won the AFC North for the first time since 2015, thanks to their 34-31 victory over the Chiefs. But will history remember that it took flags on two consecutive fourth-down plays at the goal line to keep the Bengals’ winning drive alive? The Bengals can clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC in Week 18 with a win over the Browns and losses by the Titans, Chiefs and Patriots or a win and a Bills win plus losses by the Titans and Chiefs.

• The Titans clinched a playoff berth and the AFC South with a victory over the Dolphins. At some point, we need to take a step back and recognize what the Titans have done under coach Mike Vrabel. After making the playoffs once in the nine years before he arrived in 2018, they have now had four consecutive winning seasons, three consecutive trips to the playoffs and now two consecutive division titles. The Titans can clinch the top seed in Week 18 with (A) a win at Houston, (B) losses by the Chiefs, Bengals and Patriots or (C) losses by the Chiefs and Bengals combined with a win by the Bills.

2 Related

• The Titans’ win eliminated the Colts’ chance to win the AFC South. The Colts could have clinched a playoff spot with a victory over Las Vegas, but they lost 23-20. The Colts can clinch a playoff spot with (A) a win at the Jaguars, (B) losses by the Ravens and Chargers or (C) losses by the Chargers and Steelers, and a Dolphins win.

• The Bills clinched a playoff berth, thanks to their 29-15 victory over the Falcons along with the Ravens’ loss to the Rams. That’s three consecutive trips to the postseason for the Bills under coach Sean McDermott. They’ll clinch the AFC East for the second consecutive year if they beat the Jets at home in Week 18.

• The Patriots clinched a playoff berth after beating the Jaguars 50-10 and getting a 34-3 loss from the Dolphins against the Titans. New England could still clinch the AFC East with a Week 18 victory at the Dolphins and a Bills loss. To clinch home-field advantage as the No. 1 seed, the Patriots would need a Week 18 win and losses by the Bills, Titans and Chiefs.

• The Chargers’ win over the Broncos eliminated the Broncos, Dolphins and Browns from playoff contention. More importantly for the Chargers: It set up a win-and-in situation for their Week 18 game at the Raiders. That game also will be a win-and-in scenario for the Raiders, who have won three consecutive games to get back into the race. The Raiders also can get in with a Colts loss.

• The Saints avoided playoff elimination by defeating the Panthers. They can clinch a playoff berth with a win at the Falcons combined with a loss by the 49ers.

• The 49ers didn’t clinch a playoff spot on Sunday, but they can do it in Week 18 with a win at the Rams or a loss by the Saints.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Titans wide receiver Julio Jones will miss at least three games after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury Saturday.

After not appearing on the injury report this week for the first time since Week 4, Jones tweaked his hamstring during Thursday’s practice and sat out Friday. He had been dealing with a hamstring injury since Week 3 that caused him to miss three games.

The AFC-best Titans (7-2) play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Los Angeles prosecutors on Friday charged Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark with one felony weapons violation stemming from his arrest on March 13 by the California Highway Patrol, according to a report in The Kansas City Star.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told The Star on Friday that it had charged the 28-year-old Clark with one felony count of possession of an assault weapon. Clark was arrested in March, along with another man, when officers said they found two loaded firearms in their vehicle after a traffic stop, the paper reported, citing California Highway Patrol records.

Clark was also arrested last month in Los Angeles in a separate incident in which police officers allegedly saw a submachine gun in his car, but that remains under investigation. Clark’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said at the time of his arrest on suspicion of having a concealed firearm in a vehicle that the gun belonged to Clark’s bodyguard.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line was always going to have a tough learning curve in the 2021 season.

Once a stalwart unit in the NFL, it was left in flux by the departures of left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, center Maurkice Pouncey and left guard Matt Feiler. The Steelers have just two returning starters — including one in Chuks Okorafor, who will get the first crack at moving across the line for the left tackle job.

But that learning curve instantly got even more challenging with right guard David DeCastro’s release last week.

Even if the personnel isn’t the same, the unit could still take a step forward from last year’s 51% pass block win rate, which ranked 28th in the NFL and last among the 14 playoff teams, thanks to the philosophy and techniques of new offensive line coach Adrian Klemm and leadership from young players like Zach Banner.

Klemm, who was promoted after serving as assistant OL coach for two seasons, stressed the need to add players with a physical, aggressive mentality during the draft, and Pittsburgh selected center Kendrick Green and offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.

“Some people just naturally have that — as a coach you can be demanding of it, but in critical moments of a game when man measures man, whoever you truly are is going to come out,” Klemm said after the Steelers picked Green. “If you have that dog in you, that wolf in you, you are going to continue to do that in critical moments of the game. I love it when I find a guy that I don’t have to bring that out of.”

And Klemm isn’t just relying on the players to self-start their aggression. He’s infusing it in team meetings and drills.

“I feel like there’s a little more intensity with [Klemm],” second-year guard Kevin Dotson said during OTAs. “… It’s more aggressive, more aggression. Even the way we come off the blocks. There is no more getting behind people and blocking. It is more going down the middle of them. Even the verbiage he uses in meetings is more aggressive. It’s not just ‘get to the block.’ It’s like ‘run through his face’ or other stuff that I really can’t say. He’s using more aggressive terms, and I feel like that pushes our mindset in that way.”

Players like Banner, who spent the bulk of last season learning from Klemm during his ACL rehab, can already see a difference.

“We call that necessary violence,” Banner said of Klemm’s coaching technique. “… There’s that type of thug mentality that we have when we put our helmets on. It’s still professional, still structured, but when I look at my guys going out in the tunnel, I’m looking at them and saying, ‘Let’s F’ing go.’ We have that now as a coach.

“… That killer instinct doesn’t come naturally for some guys. Sometimes it has to be coached. So when you have that technician and he’s giving the overall job, he’s rewriting our bible that we live by, the technique, the fundamentals, things that we’re coming out and doing. That’s something he does. … Some people might cower from that type of pressure and coaching, but our room is full of guys who love that and work well with that.”

Klemm, who presents as a soft-spoken guy, transforms when he instructs his unit, channeling energy and passion he learned as an offensive lineman with the

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